AIGA100 Celebrations Kick Off in Style

“The AIGA Centennial is a chance to look back at our roots as designers and to look forward to our growing impact in society,” says AIGA Executive Director Richard Grefé. “But more than that, it’s an opportunity to capture the many reasons that design matters.”

Celebrations kicked off earlier this week with the launch of 100 Years of Design, an interactive online exploration of design’s legacy and growing impact. Visitors are encouraged to learn more about American communication design through significant works, interviews and profiles, and to contribute their own favorite examples. For Centennial Voices, an essay series that will be published on the organization’s website throughout 2014, AIGA is inviting industry leaders to contribute personal reflections on the past, present and future of design.

AIGA’s 67 chapters across the U.S. will mark the centennial with dozens of events and activities throughout the year; highlights include exhibitions, networking receptions, parties and celebrations honoring AIGA Fellows. One of the largest will be The AIGA Centennial Galain New York City, honoring a special class of 24 individuals with the AIGA Medal for lifetime achievement in design.

In addition, several public exhibitions are planned to highlight design’s impact and the history of AIGA: these include Facing Forward at the AIGA National Design Center in February and Century: One Hundred Years of Typeface Design in April. Meanwhile, Drawn to Action: Posters from the AIGA Design Archives at the Denver Art Museum invites visitors to discover how design can be a tool for change, and A Visual History of AIGA at the Museum of Design Atlanta will showcase work created for AIGA by great talents.